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Cyprus rushes bailout plan as clock ticks

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS and ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press

Posted:
03/21/2013 02:26:31 AM MDT

Updated:
03/21/2013 03:28:56 PM MDT

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People wait to use the ATM of a closed branch of Laiki Bank in southern port city of Limassol, Thursday, March 21, 2013. The European Central Bank says it will keep emergency aid for Cyprus' troubled banks in place at least until Monday but will have to cut it off after that unless an international rescue program is drawn up.

NICOSIA, Cyprus—Cypriot politicians moved Thursday to restructure the country's most troubled bank as part of a broader bailout plan that must be in place by Monday to avoid financial ruin. Concerned customers rushed to get cash from ATMs as bank employees protested.

Cyprus has been told it must raise 5.8 billion euros ($7.5 billion) if it is to receive 10 billion euros ($12.9 billion) from its fellow eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund. If it does not find a way by Monday, the European Central Bank said it will cut off emergency support to the banks, letting them collapse.

That would throw the country into financial chaos and, ultimately, cause it to leave the eurozone, with unpredictable consequences for the region.

Cyprus Central Bank chief Panicos Demetriades surrounded by the media, leaves after the meeting outside the presidential palace in capital Nicosia, Thursday March 21, 2013. The European Central Bank says it will keep emergency aid for Cyprus' troubled banks in place at least until Monday but will have to cut it off after that unless an international rescue program is drawn up. ((AP Photo/Petros Karadjias))

Several new bills were being submitted to Parliament Thursday night, including restructuring the banking sector, setting up an "Investment Solidarity Fund" and restricting banking transactions in times of crisis.

Together, they will make up at least part of the alternative plan Cyprus hopes will secure it bailout money. The lawmakers said the bills would be discussed and potentially voted on Friday morning.

The pressure has increased since Parliament on Tuesday rejected an earlier proposal to seize up to 10 percent of people's bank accounts. Banks have been shut since last weekend to avoid a run and will not open until Tuesday at the earliest.

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Uncertainty was growing among Cypriots as the deadline approached and it became clear that the country's second-largest bank, Laiki or Cyprus Popular Bank, would be restructured.

Queues of 40 to 50 people formed at Laiki ATMs, which responded by capping daily withdrawals at 260 euros ($340) per person from 700 euros ($906). Although ATMs have been functioning, many often run out of cash.

"We need cash.

Cyprus Central Bank chief Panicos Demetriades leaves after the meeting outside the presidential palace in capital Nicosia, Thursday March 21, 2013. The European Central Bank says it will keep emergency aid for Cyprus' troubled banks in place at least until Monday but will have to cut it off after that unless an international rescue program is drawn up. ((AP Photo/Petros Karadjias))

We have families, children, grandchildren and expenses, and the banks have been closed since Saturday," said Andri Olympiou after withdrawing money from a Laiki branch in Nicosia, the capital.

The bills include restructuring Laiki, a move that would raise an estimated 2 billion euros out of the total 5.8 billion euros Cyprus needs, according to local media.

Once it is done, the country would be in a position to guarantee all deposits up to 100,000 euros ($130,000)—the EU-wide limit for bank guarantees.

People queue to use the ATM of a closed branch of Laiki Bank in capital Nicosia, Thursday, March 21, 2013. The European Central Bank says it will keep emergency aid for Cyprus' troubled banks in place at least until Monday but will have to cut it off after that unless an international rescue program is drawn up. ((AP Photo/Petros Karadjias))

Officials said the restructuring would split Laiki into two, with a "bad bank" taking over its soured investments, and a "good bank" retaining the healthy ones.

Setting up a bad bank is a strategy that's been used before in Europe's financial crisis, by Ireland and Spain. A bad bank is tasked with recovering as much money as possible from the investments.

Without the restructure, Laiki would collapse and drag down the rest of the banking system and the economy, Demetriades said.

"The restructuring constitutes a significant step toward the achievement of an economic support agreement for the Cyprus Republic from the European support mechanism and the International Monetary Fund," he said.

An employee of Laiki bank reacts outside the Cypriot parliament during an anti-bailout rally, Nicosia, Thursday, March 21, 2013. Cypriot officials were scrambling Thursday to cement a revised plan to raise funds demanded by international creditors in exchange for an international bailout Thursday, with time running out fast and the country s economy just days away from potential ruin. ((AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris))

But the bank's acting CEO, Takis Phidias, opposed the restructuring, saying it would do more damage than good.

"It would mean Laiki being transferred to a new bank, an existing one, with only deposits of 100,000 or under going into a good bank, while 6 billion euros in loans would be frozen, most of them would be lost," Phidias said.

"Who would pay the loans, frozen assets?" he questioned. "This would crush confidence in the banking sector and hurt the retail sector."

"We urge parliamentarians not to accept this restructuring plan, and instead enter into renegotiations with the Eurogroup to raise the necessary funding," he said.

Besides the restructuring, the "Plan B" will also likely include some form of Russian help, dipping into pension funds and taking up an offer from Cyprus' wealthy Orthodox church to contribute. Some form of tax on bank deposits is also possible.

The "Investment Solidarity Fund" is intended to appeal to "the patriotism of Cypriots" and draw on contributions from ordinary Cypriots, businessmen and foreign investors.

The fund would include revenue from Cyprus' newfound off-shore gas deposits, bonds and securities the fund would issue and the "obtaining, managing and issuing" of those issues by other companies and legal entities, the draft bill said—which could include pension and provident funds.

Other sources of revenue are listed as donations or contributions from individuals or companies or "any other source."

A "Plan B" is needed after lawmakers soundly defeated the earlier proposal to seize up to 10 percent of all domestic deposits to raise the 5.8 billion euros.

"We will have a program of support for Cyprus by Monday," Demetriades said earlier in the day.

Bank of Cyprus, another major lender, appealed to the government and politicians to reach a plan that the eurozone partners would accept, clearing the way for the bailout.

"The Cypriot economy is in a marginal and fragile state. The next move could prove salutary or disastrous," the bank said in a statement. "It is imperative we immediately proceed with the drawing up of an agreement with the Eurogroup."

Russia is likely to pitch in. Nearly a third of the 68 billion euros ($88 billion) in deposits in Cyprus' oversized banking sector are held by Russians.

Cyprus' finance minister, Michalis Sarris, has been in Moscow since Tuesday seeking to forge a deal. Russia's help would not be a loan, but rather some form of an investment, he said.

Russia news agency ITAR-Tass quoted Sarris as saying "we are discussing the subjects of gas, bank cooperation and other subjects." Cyprus has recently discovered significant off-shore gas deposits, and major energy companies have shown an interest in tapping those resources.

In Brussels, the head of the 17-nation eurozone's finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said that a one-time tax on bank deposits was "inevitable" given Cyprus' oversize financial sector. He argued, however, that the burden should be shifted toward taxing big bank deposits of more than 100,000 euros.

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Petros Giannakouris in Nicosia, Juergen Baetz in Brussels, David McHugh in Frankfurt and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.

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